New grads, once of orientation....

AnewRN2010 · Jan 14, 2011

I just got off orientation 2 days ago and really felt like I wasn't ready. My orientation was only suppose to be 4 weeks and I took about 6 weeks. I have about 20 patients. I take forever to do my medications and on top of that I have to do dressings and a bunch of treatments, charting, picking up orders and even if a patient has to go out for an appointment I have to make the copies from the chart. Our unit has no secretary so we have to do everything. I have no time for lunch or breaks. I still don't get the hang how the all the paperwork works and who to call for what. I feel like a total incompetent idiot sometimes. Today I felt my eyes watering up with tears but I stopped myself from crying. I really hate nursing and I feel like I made a mistake going to school for it. My mom tells me I will get used to it and it will be easy but I just feel so overwhelmed. I am dreading going back tomorrow.

MJB2010 · Jan 14, 2011

I just got off orientation 2 days ago and really felt like I wasn't ready. My orientation was only suppose to be 4 weeks and I took about 6 weeks. I have about 20 patients. I take forever to do my medications and on top of that I have to do dressings and a bunch of treatments, charting, picking up orders and even if a patient has to go out for an appointment I have to make the copies from the chart. Our unit has no secretary so we have to do everything. I have no time for lunch or breaks. I still don't get the hang how the all the paperwork works and who to call for what. I feel like a total incompetent idiot sometimes. Today I felt my eyes watering up with tears but I stopped myself from crying. I really hate nursing and I feel like I made a mistake going to school for it. My mom tells me I will get used to it and it will be easy but I just feel so overwhelmed. I am dreading going back tomorrow.

Sounds like my life! Why did we do this to ourselves? lol Keep your head up! We are in this together!! All we can do is our best to try right?

roma4204, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2011

It gets so much better as time goes on. Things take less time, you are less nervous and you get to know your patients and environment better.

llltapp · Jan 15, 2011

I don't know of ANY nurse that hasn't felt that way. I did. Back when I started it was a med/surg/ortho floor. We had 12 patients, some on VENTILATORS back then LOL and no CNA ! I'm not saying that was right, it just was, and I got through it with the support of my fellow nurses.

TRUST me, if you want to, you can have 10 different careers in one as an RN. I have been a nurse for almost 18 years and have never burned out because I have worked so many different areas. You will always have job security, the ability to take care of yourself and your family, and you will be challenged. Don't think you have to do the same thing for the rest of your career. Branch out!

dtrmnd2sccd · Jan 15, 2011

I'm still feeling this way a month and a half off orientation, but already things are starting to get a little more routine. I'm getting better at remembering to bring everything I need into the room with me, prioritizing, planning what I need to get done on my shift. Almost always something unexpected comes up and the plan gets shot to h*ll, but I usually can get back on track and finish everything up--not always on time, but I try to cut myself some slack (even if coworkers do not). Hang in there--I hear with time and experience it really DOES get better!!

evolvingrn, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2011

i had a great support system , i asked a lot of questions for the first few months. i never felt dread. My preceptor said once your off orientation the thing that makes us worrry is if you don't ask questions. i took that to heart and i still ask when im not sure. every nurse on my team has helped me and i have helped some of the newer ones to our facility. don't be afraid to ask.

RooseveltERoosevelt · Jan 16, 2011

I've done 2 shifts off of orientation, and one was fine and one was horrible. There is always someone for me to ask questions to and I'm not afraid to ask. I do find that I am easily overwhelmed by new situations and that's where I made my first big mistake (no one was hurt or anything and it ended up that if someone hadn't made an error days earlier, it wouldn't have been a mistake anyway, but the bottom line is that at the time, it was an error that I made while rushing and under pressure). I try to take notes when I do something new so that I remember it for next time, and I try to remember that 99% of the time, it's ok to step back and try to think before doing something. I'm hoping for a much better 3rd, 4th and 5th shifts this week. =) I have definitely already thought of reverting to my previous career, though.

Orange Tree · Jan 18, 2011

My first shifts were horrible and slooow. It took me forever to get things done, and anything unfamiliar set me back even further (unfamiliar things happened about every 20 minutes). People said that I probably wouldn't last....

It took about 6 to 8 months AND finding good mentors to make me feel OK (just OK). Now, at one year, I can honestly say that I'm better organized and more efficient than many of the nurses who arrived long before me. I still ask lots of questions, though!

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2011

I just got off orientation 2 days ago and really felt like I wasn't ready. My orientation was only suppose to be 4 weeks and I took about 6 weeks. I have about 20 patients. I take forever to do my medications and on top of that I have to do dressings and a bunch of treatments, charting, picking up orders and even if a patient has to go out for an appointment I have to make the copies from the chart. Our unit has no secretary so we have to do everything. I have no time for lunch or breaks. I still don't get the hang how the all the paperwork works and who to call for what. I feel like a total incompetent idiot sometimes. Today I felt my eyes watering up with tears but I stopped myself from crying. I really hate nursing and I feel like I made a mistake going to school for it. My mom tells me I will get used to it and it will be easy but I just feel so overwhelmed. I am dreading going back tomorrow.

I am a new grad on a med surg floor and I feel the same sence of dread everyday before going in and the day before a shift. So if it is any help to you, you are not alone.

llltapp · Jan 19, 2011

Sometimes, the best that a superb nurse can muster is charting

"pt observed awake, alert, alive" and stayed that way until the end of shift LOL

and sometimes, that's all you can do. you are NOT superhuman. Take a deep breathe and do the next right thing :)

iloveny68 · Jan 19, 2011

I'm right there with you in my third week off of orientation. This discussion thread was a godsend to me because I felt like I was an oddity staying to 8:30/9pm to finish charting. I will have faith that things will get better if we all just keep showing up!